Today, 29 January 2015, is my 10th blogging anniversary. Public blogging anyway. My 1st public blog was on Typepad and was called … the thoughts are broken…. It is a line from the Grateful Dead’s Ripple. First post: So, what is this about, and for?
The blog has been many things over the years and as of Jan 2013 I have had two more of them. I used to do a weekly “Some things read this week …” post of serious things read seriously and there were a couple years of hardly any blogging and now this month of January 2015 I already have posted 32 reviews of graphic novel and manga. WTF is that?! Not doubt many other odd juxtapositions could be found. Graphic novel reading challenge that I got off to a far better start than imagined possible is the “the” of the WTF, by the way.
As for 10 years, I’m stuck between saying, “So what?” and wanting someone to do a serious multi-faceted analysis but seeing as that would only be me the hell with it. I guess I can’t quite just say “So what?” either.
I as said, it was initially called … the thoughts are broken…, then became Off the Mark (Jul 2006), and has been habitually probing generalist since July 2009. The story of naming(s) can be found in the assorted posted linked below. Some are anniversary posts and some are more about naming or somehow seem relevant to me.
Anniversary posts
29 Jan 2005 Inaugural post
12 Jan 2006 Sort of a pre-anniversary post
29 Jan 2006 1st anniversary post and metaphors of orality
2008 3rd anniversary post and LISNews Top 10
“Let there be songs to fill the air.”
2009 4th anniversary
“She found me in an alley and my life will never be the same.”
6 years later: I had no idea how true that statement would become and how deep it could resonate, nor did I have any idea the state of good represented by the proposition.
2010 5th anniversary [good shorthand version of history]
Other posts
20 Jul 2006 Welcome to Off the Mark Name change the first
20 Oct 2006 habitually probing generalist: the story of a label
20 Jul 2008 Mark has been Off for 2 years 2nd anniversary of Off the Mark
19 Jul 2009 habitually probing generalist Name change the second
24 Jan 2013 Two new blogs
Some numbers and a list
- Most posts/month: 50 in May 2005; 2nd is 43 in November 2005
- Most posts/year: 371 in 2005; 2nd is 296 in 2006
- Least posts/year: 6 in 2013; 2nd is 10 in 2014
- First month 0 posts: November 2008
- Longest stretch no posts: 9 months (23 January – 22 Oct 2014); 2nd is 5 months (21 April – 22 September 2013)
As one can see above and definitely below, I got off to an amazing start. The content was highly varied back then too. I have no idea how I managed the first few years as I was a full-time grad student and worked 20 hours/week. Clearly I was generating a large quantity of writing for my degree(s) work also. Crazy.
It was a heady time and many of us—students and otherwise—were cranking out so many words trying to have discussions and move the field along: Chad, Joy, Jenica, Dorothea, and so many others. Some are still around; some aren’t. Some are in different venues and I couldn’t point you at the old “them” if I wanted. That’s fine; I just wish the reasons were less innocuous than they are in a few cases.
In my 1st year (actually a little less as am going to calendar year end not 29 Jan), I posted over 31.7% of all existent posts. In 2006 it was 25.3%, in 2007 18.8%, with 2008 (4th year) being the first year to be under one-tenth of the total at 7.6%. So in my first two years I posted 57% of my content and by the end of the third has posted 76.1% of it all. Wow!
Then again, over 33 posts before January ends (as I am already at on the 26th; with a couple more in draft for Jan.) has, well …. Well. Look at that. It has never been done before. The most in January was 27 in 2006 and then 20 in 2007. Ha. Go, me!
Number of posts per month by year
2005
Jan 8
Feb 18
Mar 23
Apr 42
May 50
Jun 29
Jul 30
Aug 23
Sep 34
Oct 41
Nov 43
Dec 30
Total 371
2006
Jan 27
Feb 28
Mar 35
Apr 32
May 17
Jun 20
Jul 17
Aug 23
Sep 20
Oct 22
Nov 30
Dec 25
Total 296
2007
Jan 20
Feb 31
Mar 10
Apr 21
May 30
Jun 21
Jul 17
Aug 17
Sep 13
Oct 15
Nov 10
Dec 15
Total 220
2008
Jan 16
Feb 11
Mar 11
Apr 11
May 11
Jun 10
Jul 5
Aug 6
Sep 6
Oct 2
Nov –
Dec 1
Total 90
2009
Jan 4
Feb –
Mar 2
Apr –
May 2
Jun 1
Jul 2
Aug –
Sep –
Oct 1
Nov 1
Dec 1
Total 14
2010
Jan 1
Feb 3
Mar 2
Apr 4
May –
Jun –
Jul –
Aug 6
Sep 9
Oct 11
Nov 2
Dec 4
Total 42
2011
Jan 7
Feb 5
Mar –
Apr –
May 1
Jun –
Jul 4
Aug 5
Sep 2
Oct 1
Nov 3
Dec 4
Total 32
2012
Jan 6
Feb 4
Mar 2
Apr 3
May 1
Jun 4
Jul 2
Aug 1
Sep 2
Oct –
Nov 24
Dec 6
Total 55
2013
Jan 2
Feb 1
Mar –
Apr 1
May –
Jun –
Jul –
Aug –
Sep 1
Oct –
Nov –
Dec 1
Total 6
2014
Jan 2
Feb –
Mar –
Apr –
May –
Jun –
Jul –
Aug –
Sep –
Oct 1
Nov 4
Dec 3
Total 10
2015
Jan 32 (25 January 2015)
2005-2015 1169 posts total
Cheers for making it all the way down here. I have no idea how this blog will continue to manifest but I am still saying things, even if much less (here), so will keep it. I honestly wish I had more time to read back through it. The 100s of 1000s of words I wrote contain a few good ones, along with a couple excellent ideas. It shows a fragmented, erratic, (somewhat) incoherent path but it was mine.
There is also a lot of insight and wisdom in the comments by others. I want to thank every last person who made one or more since the beginning.
I’m still “sewing.” I’m still listening. I keep trying to make some sense but … the thoughts are broken ….
Thanks to all who were along for the ride and those here now and in the future.
Peace and love.
